LOCAL badger campaign group, Gloucestershire Against Badger Shooting (GABS), has asked the top parliamentary financial scrutineers, the Public Accounts Committee, to look into how government funding has been used in the Gloucestershire Badger Cull. The group fears that, with the release of a range of information over recent months, there is strong evidence to suggest that hard working taxpayers’ money has been badly wasted in the Gloucestershire cull.

GABS spokesperson, Jeanne Berry said: “We now believe that there is strong evidence arising from various government reports, responses to FOI requests and copies of correspondence with a range of involved parties to suggest that the West Gloucestershire cull has not delivered good value for money. There are also questions to be answered about the cull operators being inappropriately subsidised by the taxpayer via the Home Office. We have written to the Public Accounts Committee today to ask that the West Gloucestershire pilot cull be reviewed by the committee from the angle of value for money and we look forward to helping them to consider this important issue. "We want to see healthy badgers and healthy cattle but this needs to be done in such a way as to ensure that the taxes of hard working people are used to best effect.

"In West Gloucestershire, the cull operators have been in breach of their licence agreements many times over the last three years. Whilst this sounds technical it means in reality that the cull has resulted in a massive waste of public funds with money being poured down the drain even though it has been clear for some time that the cull was not effective. This is at time when there are better and cheaper alternatives.

"There are also instances of the government seeming to pay costs which should normally be paid by private companies and the public needs to know why this is happening. We all agree that we need healthy badgers and healthy cattle but with the West Gloucestershire cull having failed for the last three years and having wasted millions of pounds of public money, the time has come for those involved in this waste to be held to account and for a more cost effective process to be put in place.“